Angels’ Mike Trout Suffers Torn Meniscus in Left Knee, Expected to Return This Season
One of baseball’s brightest stars is set to miss extended time once again.
Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout will head to the injured list after suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee, which will require surgery, general manager Perry Minasian announced Tuesday. While there’s no timetable for his return, the injury to the three-time MVP isn’t expected to be season ending.
The 32-year-old centre-fielder has already missed 249 games due to injury from 2021-23.
“It’s tough,” Trout said while fighting back tears prior to Tuesday’s matchup versus the Philadelphia Phillies. “It’s just frustrating. But we’ll get through it.”
Trout and the Angels remain unsure as to when he sustained the injury. The closest estimate is that it occurred during Monday’s series opener against the Phillies.
The 11-time All-Star said he felt something in his left knee while jogging off the field after the third inning. But the discomfort wasn’t significant at the time. So, he remained in the game, swiped his sixth base of 2024 – matching his combined total from the last four seasons – and scored the eventual game-winning run in a 6-5 victory.
Afterwards, the pain in Trout’s knee intensified overnight, prompting him to undergo an MRI the next day which revealed a tear in his meniscus.
“It’s crazy because when I look back, I don’t even know when I did it,” Trout said. “In the third inning when I was going back to the dugout, I felt an ache, but just like a little ache where it was more like, ‘This is weird.’ Didn’t think anything of it and was hitting and running and didn’t feel anything. Stole second, felt nothing. It was just after I did activity and sat back down and got back up, that’s when I felt it.”
Trips to the IL, albeit uncontrollable ones, have cost Trout countless games over the last few years. He’s surpassed the 100-game mark just once in three seasons since 2021 and hasn’t played 130 games or more since ‘19.
A right calf strain limited him to 36 contests in ‘21, while a fractured hamate bone ended his ‘23 campaign last July, capping his 13th big-league season at 82 games.
“It’s all guesses, trying to pinpoint where this came from,” Trout said. “You play the game hard and [stuff] happens.”
Trout will continue to support his Angels teammates throughout his recovery process, which has yet to be mapped out by team doctors. However, he’s expected to undergo surgery in the coming days.
“It hurts right now but I have to look at the positives,” Trout said. “I’ll be back in a few months. Crush the rehab and support my teammates.”
Los Angeles signed free agent Kevin Pillar to a one-year contract on Tuesday to help provide support in the outfield during Trout’s extended absence. He’ll join an outfield corps that includes Taylor Ward, Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak.
Trout, a nine-time Silver Slugger, had gotten off to a fantastic start this season, hitting .220/.325/.541 with 10 home runs – tied with Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson for the major-league lead – and a 141 wRC+ across 29 games, worth 1.0 fWAR.
The 25th-overall selection from 2009 homered off Orioles ace Corbin Burnes during his first at-bat on Opening Day, blasting a 402-foot laser to straightaway centre.
Trout is only 22 home runs shy of 400 and 46 RBIs back of 1,000 for his career.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Jeffrey Hayes. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.